Difference Between FTP and TFTP
Following table describes the differences between FTP and TFTP.
| Item | FTP | TFTP |
|---|---|---|
| Stands for | File Transfer Protocol | Trivial File Transfer Protocol |
| Transport Layer Protocol (Layer 4) | TCP (Connection oriented and reliable protocol) | UDP (Connection-less and less reliable protocol, but much faster than TCP) |
| Network Layer Protocol (Layer 3) | IPv4 or IPv6 | IPv4 or IPv6 |
| Ports used | TCP Ports 20 (Data) and 21 (Control) | UDP 69 |
| Authentication | Authentication is possible | Authentication is not possible |
| Complexity | FTP is more complex than TFTP | TFTP is less complex than FTP |
| Commands | FTP has many commands for file operations | TFTP has only five messages |
| Software Size | Since more complex, FTP Client and Server software size is more | Since less complex, TFTP Client and Server software size is less compared with FTP |
| Connection Errors | Since FTP uses TCP, network connection errors (lost packets, checksum errors etc) are handled by TCP. TCP is a reliable protocol. | Since TFTP uses UDP, connection errors are handled by (lost packets, checksum errors etc) are handled by the TFTP software itself. UDP is not a reliable protocol. |
| Security | Authentication is possible in FTP. Hence, FTP is considered more secure than TFTP. | There is no authentication possible in TFTP. Hence, TFTP is considered less secure than FTP. |
| Use | FTP is used for file transfer in LAN, intranet and internet. | TFTP is mainly used for network booting and copying OS and configuration files from routers and switches, typically within LAN. |
